The Kansas City Royals have three catchers on their active roster, including No. 2 prospect Carter Jensen, but Salvador Perez will still get the majority of the reps behind the plate.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro revealed as much on Tuesday, according to MLB.com's Anne Rogers. She added that Quatraro indicated Jensen will “pinch-hit, pinch-run, go in for defense, etc.”
At 35 years old, Perez is still holding his own behind the plate. He's hit 23 home runs and has a .241 batting average and 100 OPS+. Bringing up Jensen will allow Perez to see some time at first base or DH to help keep him fresh, even if he remains the team's primary catcher with Luke Maile playing behind him.
In addition to his ability to help Perez behind the plate, Jensen brings a promising bat to the Kansas City lineup. In 43 games at Triple-A Omaha, he has hit for a 1.051 OPS with 14 home runs and 11 doubles. As a team, the Royals rank 22nd in baseball in team OPS (.701) and 26th in total home runs (132).
With rosters expanding at the start of the month, Kansas City also activated promising rookie Jac Caglianone, who had been on a rehab assignment. He had not started to hit yet in 150 at bats before his injury (.147 BA), but as the sixth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, he soared through the minor leagues, proving himself at every stop along the way.
The Royals are facing an uphill climb to reach the postseason, but by no means is it unrealistic. While they're out of the American League Central race, they're 2.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners in the Wild Card race with the Texas Rangers between them.
After dropping two out of three to the Detroit Tigers over the weekend, the Royals begin a three-game set at home against the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday.
